Not to be negative, but there isn’t a whole lot to read positively into Jarome Iginla’s standout stat so far this season.

He leads the Calgary Flames with a minus-10 rating.

His next closest competition is another handful back, with current linemates Mikael Backlund and Alex Tanguay and defenceman Jay Bouwmeester all at minus-5 for the year.

While Iginla’s five goals have him in a tie for the team lead, he’s nowhere near the top of the NHL charts in that statistical category, one in which he can usually be found.

But in a five-way tie for 685th prior to Wednesday night’s action, Iginla’s double-digit minus rating had him in a deadlock for the league’s eighth worst in that area of five-on-five action.

And while the merits of plus/minus can be debated at length in terms of what the number represents, there’s reason to be concerned when it’s your top offensive players being outscored on a regular basis.

“Sure, you worry about it,” said Flames head coach Brent Sutter. “It’s more the line, too. They’re not producing enough offensively because they’re spending too much time in our own zone and not enough in the other zone.

“It affects them. When your guys that can’t put up offensive numbers for you and your team and not spending enough time in the offensive zone, that’s impactual. It’s going to affect you in that way.”

On pace for fewer than 25 goals this season — which would be Iginla’s worst output since his second NHL campaign — the Flames captain is also fixing to post his first double-digit negative in the plus/minus column since 2002-03.

Unavailable to chat with the media Wednesday, Iginla will certainly be asked about it Thursday as the team prepares for a date with the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, who suit up Friday night against the Flames at the Saddledome (7 p.m., Sportsnet West).

In the meantime, Sutter says it’s up to all his players to work hard at getting their games in shape with and without the puck.

“If it’s not happening the way you want it to be, then you just have to continue to work on your game and continue to get better and better and try to make the team game better and better, and eventually, it will start coming for you,” Sutter said.

“There’s no shortcuts. You’ve got to really work at it, and those guys are.”

As dysfunctional as the Flames powerplay has been, special teams play has little bearing on the plus/minus stat. Although shorthanded goals against count as a minus, powerplay goals for do not count as a plus. Iginla doesn’t often kill penalties.

Struggling to score goals at his usual pace so far is definitely making things worse for Iginla at the moment.

“That’s what happens when we’re not scoring enough five-on-five,” Sutter said. “There’s not much room for error there, so it stands out more.

“If we were scoring more five-on-five, then you wouldn’t see that, where (the plus/minus stat is) at with some guys right now.”

Iginla has never had the reputation of being a strong two-way player, but his coaches and management have asked more of that of him since the lockout.

Mixed results have been masked with his continuous contributions in the scoring department.

But with Iginla suffering through a season long offensive slump, the holes in his defensive game are being unveiled.